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An Update On Zimbabwe

(posted April 08, 2008)

It's difficult at this juncture to weigh in with an update on the situation in Zimbabwe, as events there are so fluid they could change by the time you read this later today. With scores of you about to board planes headed in that direction, however, and with irresponsible babble taking place on the Africa Big Game Forum hosted by Accurate Reloading, I felt it was necessary to provide as much guidance as possible. So, here goes….

The political process in Zimbabwe has come to a standstill as this is written, with the Electoral Commission refusing to release results of the recent presidential election. The High Court has become involved and promised to weigh in with a decision on how to proceed. Meanwhile, there have been some troubling demonstrations at a few white-owned farms. All of that is known by anyone who is following readily available international news reports.

Clouding the picture is a posting on Accurate Reloading this past Sunday by a Zimbabwe PH using the pseudonym Ganyana. The poster says he is taking the precaution of moving his family out of Zimbabwe and is delaying a lion hunt because there are no air strips near his camp, which would allow his client to fly directly into camp. Ganyana goes on to raise the specter of black-on-white violence and "possible victims traveling on the open roads through turbulent areas."

I am not about to green-light the situation in Zimbabwe at this point, but I can tell you that calls I made around Zimbabwe this morning created a completely different picture of the on-the-ground situation. The airport in Harare is open as usual and clients are coming and going. No one at this writing has reported any problems. I have alerted the Zimbabwe hunting community to the Ganyana posting, and individuals there have promised me an update on who Ganyana is and what his motivation was in creating such an alarmist view of the current situation.

Here is how Sally Bown, Administrative Officer of SOAZ (Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe), described the situation this morning from her perspective: "I am 62 years old. I am a widow. I drive to and from work alone every day, and I can tell you there is no reason for alarm. None."

Bown went on to urge worried clients to call their safari operators for an update on their hunts. She noted SOAZ can be reached at: 011-263-4-702-402 - dialed from the US. E-mail: enquiries@soaz.net.

The other thing worried clients can do is register with the US Embassy in Harare on arrival; or via the internet ahead of time. The web address is: https://travelregistration.state.gov. The phone number is: 011-263-4-250-593/4/5. That number is reachable by satellite phone, by the way. After-hours callers should ask to be transferred to the Duty Officer. We rent sat phones here at The Hunting Report, and use FedEx for delivery anywhere in the US in as little as 24 hours.

As if the Ganyana posting was not creating enough problems, it appears The Hunting Report has been manipulated by someone seeking to do harm to the 2008 season in Zimbabwe. Seems a decades-old article from our database about an impending tax increase in Zimbabwe is being e-mailed around as if it were a contemporary document. Rest assured, there is no impending tax increase in Zimbabwe that would affect the cost of 2008 safaris. If you receive a news bulletin to that effect, please ignore it, and tell your hunting friends to ignore it.

The bottom line here is, Zimbabwe is in turmoil and near-term developments are hard to predict. But the country is open for business. Hunts are being conducted. - Don Causey.

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